Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters
- Short video app TikTok said teen users will no longer receive push notifications at night, as part of a move to tighten safety controls.
- Notifications will be disabled at 9 p.m. for those between 13 and 15, and at 10 p.m. for those between 16 and 17.
- TikTok has also reset teens' default DM settings.
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Teens using TikTok will no longer receive notifications late in the night, as the short video app company announced on Thursday a range of measures aimed at tightening safety and privacy controls.
Users between 13 and 15 will stop receiving notifications at 9 p.m., while those between 16 and 17 will have notifications disabled by 10 p.m.
"We want to help our younger teens, in particular, develop positive digital habits early on," TikTok's Alexandra Evans, Head of Child Safety Public Policy, and Aruna Sharma, Global Head of Privacy, said in a statement.
Besides regulating when teens can receive notifications, the company is also tweaking its direct messaging settings to automatically prohibit direct messages to users between 16 and 17. Currently, the social media app does not allow those under 16 to receive direct messages.
To make sure teenage users are more aware of their privacy settings when uploading videos, the company will ask users who will be allowed to watch their videos each time they upload one. They will also be asked if others can download their videos. They will not be able to upload the videos without first selecting who can view and download them.
TikTok
Social media platforms have of late come under pressure to protect minors online from inappropriate content and hidden advertising.
Instagram announced in July that it would set the accounts of those under 16 private by default, adding that it will also stop accounts with suspicious behavior from interacting with minors. Google followed suit and announced this month that it would block advertisements targeting teens.